This first detailed comprehensive study has been long awaited. Until now, interest in the history of Canadian architecture has been satisfied mainly by brief surveys or local histories. Writing these two volumes over ten years, Kalman has produced a rich panorama, treating the vast range ofCanadian building from the dwellings of the native peoples and the first settlers to buildings of the recent past and the present day.Describing the country's architectural history in a lucid and interesting narrative, and placing the buildings firmly in a social and cultural context, Kalman brings to light some distinctive characteristics of Canadian architects and architecture: a respect for nature, natural forms, and localmaterials; the tendencies to absorb ideas from abroad and then simplify and restrain them, and to take a middle position between extreme modernism and extreme traditionalism; the development of marked regional differences; and the flair for producing innovations in response to social issues.

Harold Kalman is a specialist in architectural history and heritage conservation. He is the author (or co-author) of many standard texts on architecture and conservation, including A History of Canadian Architecture and Principles of Heritage Conservation.